Up to this point, Condon and returning series scribe Melissa Rosenberg have translated the material in appreciably swoon-worthy fashion.
Surely this must be the first movie series so innately fearful of sex (and yet so dependent on its leads’ sex appeal) that even proper conjugal relations come with a note of caution, none more frightening than when Bella suddenly finds herself with child - half-human, half-vampire, a phenomenon with no biological precedent. Jacob is right to worry: Though filmed with the utmost soft-focus, duvet-wrapped tastefulness, the couple’s wedding night leaves Bella covered with bruises, the bed in tatters, and the audience, presumably, in a puddle of ecstasy. Cullen has decided to postpone her bloodsucker transformation until after her Brazilian honeymoon. Still violently opposed to the union is Bella’s lupine best friend and spurned suitor, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), especially when he learns the new Mrs. Things begin, happily enough, with a wedding, as Bella (Kristen Stewart) says “I do” to Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and joins his family of shimmeringly benevolent vampires.
Given the early fright pics on his resume, the chameleonlike Condon would have been more than up to the challenge if given the chance.
Like any commercial behemoth, “The Twilight Saga” by nature resists any attempt at transcendence, experimentation or risk that’s especially unfortunate in the case of “Breaking Dawn,” which is by far the most out-there novel in the series and would have benefited from a dash of Cronenbergian body-horror and, commercial restraints notwithstanding, a willingness to push past a PG-13 rating. 16, 2012, forcing auds to wait nearly a year after “Part 1” to devour the second half of the Bill Condon-directed double feature.Ĭertainly the highest-profile helmer attached to the series so far, Condon takes the reins capably enough here, though his approach suffers from a certain stylistic anonymity that seems endemic to the material. In what will seem cruel and unusual punishment for fans, however, “Part 2,” with its promise of a full-scale vampire war in which Bella will play a crucial role, is slated to hit theaters Nov. The guardians of this enormously popular franchise ($1.8 billion in worldwide grosses) have in effect followed the “Harry Potter” playbook by splitting the final chapter into two parts, ensuring thorough plot retention and, more to the point, maximum B.O.